


and pretend

by parkrstark



Series: stardust & nightmares [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, M/M, Protective Tony Stark, Rape Aftermath, Rape Recovery, Rape/Non-con Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-18 06:02:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11868186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parkrstark/pseuds/parkrstark
Summary: The one in which everything goes wrong and Tony is still there to make sure Peter is okay...until he can't.





	and pretend

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for sticking with me this long! I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter....I was up in the air about several plot points but I think I decided on the right versions. 
> 
> There's some verbal sexual harassment from a dumb kid in the beginning.

Inviting Ned over had been a good choice. He kept Peter’s mind occupied on other things other than the constant pain he’d been putting himself through lately. He wasn’t back to normal but he smiled and laughed once or twice. 

 

Ned definitely suspected something but he didn’t mention anything. He was actually pretty good at acting normal when Peter did something strange like shy out of their handshake. The kid had a lot of patience. 

 

By the time Ned was picked up, it was close to one in the morning. Peter was sitting up on the couch waking himself up every time he started to doze off. Tony came over and picked up the empty popcorn bowl off the cushion. “Hey, remember what I said about taking care of yourself? That means getting sleep.”

 

Peter looked up at him and said, “May.”

 

Tony rolled his eyes. “I'll tell her you're crashing here. You wanna lay down?” Tony had tried to avoid using a commanding sentence because he didn't like how quickly Peter obeyed to them. That had Dustin written all over it. 

 

Peter nodded his head, letting his eyes finally droop close. His body was still trying to catch up on all the sleep Peter had been depriving himself.

 

“Thanks, Mr. Stark,” he mumbled before passing out, curled up in the corner of the couch. He was snoring in a matter of minutes. 

 

After Tony had finished cleaning up Ned’s mess of popcorn, chips and soda cans, Tony pulled out his StarkPhone and called May. 

 

She picked up on the first ring. “Is Peter okay?”

 

“Yeah,” Tony assured her. “He's fine. Him and Ned were watching movies all night and Peter fell asleep on the couch.”

 

She breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay, good. My shift ends at three, I can swing by and--.”

 

“No, don't worry. He’s fine here, if that’s okay with you.”

 

May hesitated before giving an answer, “Are you sure?”

 

“Of course. He already ate all my food, might as well let him take my couch too.” Tony glanced over at Peter where he was still sound asleep. 

 

“Okay,” she said in a hurry. “I have to get back to work but...thank you, Tony. Really.”

 

Tony felt himself smile smalley. “You’re welcome,” he said back before she had to go. Peter once mentioned something about May sorta disliking him but right now, that was hard to believe. 

 

Tony fell to the opposite end of the couch and let out a deep breath. This was exhausting. Now he knew how Rhodey and Pepper felt whenever they were the ones to pick him back up. 

 

Tony wished it was him again that needed the help. He wanted to be the one suffering instead of Peter. Peter was just a kid and never once did anything to deserve this. Tony, on the other hand, definitely deserved some karma. 

 

But then again, watching Peter torture himself over something he was already tortured with was painful enough to watch as well. Especially since there was so little that Tony could do. 

 

Tony was letting his eyes shut so he could catch up on some rest as well when a small whimper filled the quiet room. Tony peeked an eye open and stared over at Peter. 

 

Peter's face was pinched up in pain and he was kicking his feet. He was mumbling under his breath but Tony couldn't understand a word he was saying. It sounded pained and panicked though. 

 

Tony sat up and leaned over to him. He called Peter's name, making sure not to touch him. “Peter, kid, come on, wake up,” he tried again. He wasn't showing any signs of hearing him through his nightmare. 

 

Tony took a deep breath and whispered, “I'm sorry, Peter.” Then he grabbed Peter's arm and shook him. 

 

The touch on his arm was enough to snap his eyes open. He let out a choked scream as his wild eyes danced around the room. Tony didn't move his hand. 

 

Finally, after a few minutes, Peter's gaze settled on Tony and then he followed his arm to his hand where it was holding his shoulder. That's when the tears started to fall. 

 

“Hey, don't cry, you're okay. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have touched you like that--.” He started to move his hand away but Peter grabbed it. 

 

“No, please.” His eyes were squeezed shut. “I need to...I can't be afraid of touch anymore. It's so stupid.”

 

Tony shook his head. “No. Not stupid at all. You went through something horrible and touch brings back bad memories. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be left alone for a while.”

 

Peter opened his eyes and looked down at Tony's hand. “But I don't want that. I don't want to be scared.”

 

Tony nodded, understandingly. “You'll get there. It takes time to heal.”

 

Peter said miserably, “It's been more than two weeks and I haven't gotten any better.”

 

“I know you want to rush it, Peter. But it's not going to work like that. This isn't something you can just jump back up from.”

 

Peter hunched his shoulders. “And the award for the weakest, lamest, ex-superhero goes to Peter Parker. Can't save himself, how is he supposed to save anyone else?”

 

Tony knew right now being Spider-Man wasn't a good idea for Peter but that definitely wasn't because he was weak. He just wish Peter would realize that. 

 

“I was terrified of water. And the dark.” Tony chuckled humorlessly. Peter looked over at him, waiting for him to continue. “Captured and tortured for 3 months in Afghanistan. Wasn't a fun time.”

 

Peter remained quiet, listening. 

 

“I thought once I was back home I'd be okay…” Tony shook his head and said, “Nope,” popping the ‘p’. “I couldn't sleep or eat or take a shower. I was a mess.”

 

“I think being kidnapped and tortured for 3 months warrants that.”

 

Tony looked over at him. “And what happened to you doesn't?”

 

Peter hesitated before he responded, “What happened to me was one night, not even a half hour. Maybe 15 minutes.” 

 

“15 minutes of hell. Actual hell. If you think you suffered any less, you're wrong.” Tony frowned. “I had a shitty situation but it wasn't like yours. Some ways yours is worse.” 

 

Peter rolled his eyes. “You're only saying that. You were kidnapped by terrorists. The entire world was horrified at what would happen.”

 

“Yeah, I was pretty horrified too.” 

 

“I remember Uncle Ben and Aunt May watching the news. Some people were saying you deserved it...but not May or Ben. Especially Ben. He hoped every night you'd be found. Said no matter what a man does, he doesn't deserve a fate like yours.”

 

Tony stared down at his hands, trying hard to back the tears burning his eyes. 

 

“And then you came home and changed it. You realized what the right thing to do was and you fixed it.” Peter gave Tony a bashful smile. “That's when I started to look up to you. You went through hell but only came out stronger.”

 

“And you're coming out of this stronger, too, so maybe I'll have to start looking up to you,” Tony quipped. 

 

“Oh, yeah, I'm really strong. Just look at all these nightmares,” Peter grumbled.

 

“I had nightmares too. Had nightmares again years later after flying a missile into a hole in the sky. That only lasted for a few minutes and I had anxiety for months afterwards. Still do get nightmares sometimes.”

 

“How do...what do you do…?” Peter asked in a hushed voice. 

 

“I used to not sleep. I'd tinker in my lab for hours until the sun came back up.” He sighed. “Those were the worst days of my life. I was reliving everything and running on no sleep. I was one day away from keeling over.”

 

“How did you get better?”

 

Tony smiled, staring over at the wall. “The team. Every superhero has gone through some serious shit...we all had a fair share. It was easier to be surrounded with them all...kinda like a family…” His smile faltered slightly. “Steve was the one to catch me though…”

 

“Cap?”

 

Tony chuckled. “Yeah. Stayed at a safe house...had to double up. I bunked with Rogers...heard me one night screaming about aliens and black holes. Started telling me about how every soldier got shell shock. Even him.”

 

“Steve was a good friend.”

 

Tony squeezed his eyes shut. He wanted to say ‘is’ because he wasn't ready to let him go but he left it alone. “Yeah. He gave me what I needed. Someone to talk to and stay by my side. And when we went our separate ways, he blabbered his big mouth to Rhodes and the next thing I knew, I was spending 3 hours a week in therapy.”

 

“Therapy?” Peter asked, sounding scared. 

 

“It helps.”

 

Peter looked back down at his lap. “I'm not ready to talk about it.”

 

“And that's okay. But when you are, I'll be right here.” Tony patted his shoulder, forgetting the ‘no touching’ rule. But Peter didn't flinch. In fact, he leaned a little closer. Like his body missed human contact was savoring whatever it got. 

 

“Thanks, Mr. Stark,” he whispered.

 

“No problem, kiddo.”

* * *

”We can go home,” Tony said as they pulled up in front of the school the next morning. “Aunt May won't mind you taking a day off.”

 

Peter shook his head. “No. I'll be fine...we're doing a cool experiment in Chem today and--” he stopped short when he saw Tyler standing at the front door of the school. 

 

Tony tensed next to him. “What's wrong?”

 

“It's him.”

 

“What?” Tony sounded anxious. “Dustin is in jail, how--.”

 

“Tyler.” 

 

Tony's gaze followed where the teen was chatting and laughing with a bunch of his friends. “I wish we could put him away too but then it’ll get out.”

 

Peter rolled his jaw. He wanted Tyler to suffer in jail, not just lose a scholarship. But then he'd spill what happened. Peter couldn't have that. 

 

He felt stupid for asking but he needed to. “Can you not drive away until I'm inside? I don't...it's stupid--.”

 

“I'll be right here,” Tony promised. “If he tries anything, I'm right here.” 

 

Peter grabbed his backpack and nodded. “Okay. Thanks.” He took a deep breath before opening the car door and stepping out. 

 

He shut the door and a few people were staring. But Peter guessed they were staring at the expensive car he was getting out of. He kept his head down as he hurried up the steps. 

 

“Yo, Parker,” a voice calling out stopped him. He didn't turn around but he stayed in place. “You got yourself a sugar daddy dropping you off now?”

 

Peter squeezed his eyes shut, begging his legs to move. 

 

“I got a nice idea,” Tyler continued. “You suck my dick and I'll buy you nice things too.” His friends laughed with him. 

 

Peter felt his heart race. Tyler knew what he was saying. He was the only other kid in the school that knew what happened. The other kids were just laughing because it was fun to pick on Penis Parker. But Tyler knew what he was doing. He was making a game out of it. 

 

Peter heard Tony's car shut off. He was going to get out. And everyone was going to ask why Tony Stark was dropping Peter off to school in the morning. And that would make everything worse and--.

 

“Hey, Pete, c’mon, I don't wanna be late to homeroom.” Ned was suddenly next to him. 

 

“Hey, maybe Ned will give you something nice. I know you miss it.” Tyler sounded closer and Peter was going to throw up. 

 

But Ned was there. He was grounding him and he was pissed. “Hey, dick head, I don't think Peter gives a shit about you, so how about you leave him alone?”

 

“I just wanted to tell him what happened to Dustin. I mean, the poor guy is in jail for rape. Wonder who cried like a little bitch to someone and ruined his life.” 

 

Peter's heart skipped a beat. People knew. They were going to trace it back to him. Peter felt his chest tighten and he couldn't breathe. 

 

But Ned was there. 

 

“That creep is in jail because he raped someone. I hope he rots in fucking hell.” 

 

Peter heard a scuffle and Dustin’s friends gasp. Peter turned around to see Dustin on the ground. “You're gonna regret that, fat ass!” 

 

Ned grabbed Peter's arm and pulled him inside. “We gotta go.”

 

Peter wanted to smile because Tyler deserved to be shoved but he couldn't because Tyler knew. And he could tell the whole world if he wanted. 

 

Ned didn't stop pulling them until they were locked in the nearest bathroom. Peter leaned against the wall, trying to catch him breath.

 

“Tyler’s an asshole,” Ned said softly. 

 

Peter nodded as he wiped the water from his eyes. He wasn't going to cry in front of Ned. He fell to the floor and Ned took a seat next to him. 

 

“You know, I meant it last night when I said that I'd always be here for you.”

 

Peter nodded. “I know. Thanks for having my back with him.”

 

“You can trust to talk to me,” Ned said, “If you need to get something out and clear your mind. I'm your best friend.”

 

“I'm fine, but thanks, Ned.”

 

He felt Ned staring at him. “No, you're not. You fainted in class and were unconscious for over a day the last time we had this argument.”

 

Peter avoided Ned’s eyes as he stared down at the disgusting floor he really wished he was not sitting on. 

 

“Dustin was at the party. That's when people are saying it happened.”

 

Peter squeezed his eyes shut. Ned knew. Ned was going to hate him. 

 

“You were at that party, too.” 

 

Peter gasped back a sob. How did he know? Did that mean everyone knew?

 

“Were you the one he raped?”

 

Peter let his head slam hard into his knees. “I didn't, I'm sorry, N-Ned.”

 

“Peter, no, stop. What are you apologizing for?” Ned asked. “I'm the one that should be apologizing for not going with you. I should have went. It wouldn't have happened if I had followed you.”

 

“It's not your fault, Ned. It's mine. I should have listened to you.”

 

“Why didn't you want me to know...I know it's embarrassing but I could have helped you.”

 

“I didn't want you to treat me differently because of what happened. I didn't want to lose you.” Peter whispered in a broken voice. 

 

“I thought I was losing you,” Ned admitted. 

 

Peter shook his head. “How did you know? Has everyone seen it?”

 

“What?” Ned furrowed his brows. “Seen what?” 

 

“The video. That's how you know.” 

 

Ned’s eyes widened. “Are you telling me they took a video of it?” Peter couldn't form a response. “God, no, I didn't see it. I just pieced it all together. My aunt...she was raped. She acted the same way you were but I didn't really know until I heard Tyler saying that shit to you.”

 

Peter looked up at him. “Your Aunt...is she okay?”

 

Ned nodded. “It happened a few years ago. It wasn't easy but she started to act more like herself. She still has bad days but she feels more normal now than she used to. She lives her life like it never happened. Of course, it's always there in the back of her mind and some days it's too hard to ignore but she doesn't let it beat her. She thinks about how strong she's become after it.”

 

Peter sniffled. “I want to pretend it never happened. I want to be me again.”

 

“But, this is you, Peter. You can't pretend you didn't go through this. It won't work. After you start to feel better, you'll see how much you grew because of this. And I know it's a pretty shitty excuse. But don't let it control you. Dustin tried to hurt you, but you only came out stronger.”

 

“I don't feel stronger,” Peter grumbled. 

 

“That's because you're trying to do this all on your own. You're acting like you need to struggle with all of this this by yourself.” He titled his head and hesitated before asking, “Does May know?”

 

Peter shook his head. 

 

“Does anyone? Please tell me you got help somewhere.”

 

“Mr. Stark. I went to him. He's the one that got Dustin in prison.”  

 

“Good. As long as you weren't alone. And now, you have me, too. So if you ever wanna talk about something you don't wanna tell him, just call me and we'll talk.”

 

Peter looked over at his best friend and wondered why he didn't do this days ago. Of course Ned wouldn't treat him differently. 

 

He reached over and wrapped his arms around Ned and quickly let go all in five seconds. He didn't freak out like he thought he would. So he tried again. He pulled Ned in for a hug and Ned stayed still. 

 

He knew Peter wasn't ready to be hugged back just yet. He appreciated the thought. He was probably used to knowing what to expect from his aunt. He didn't have to worry about his best friend hurting him. He never did.

* * *

Peter should have known the shit was going to hit the fan when Peter and Ned survived the rest of the day without being bothered by Tyler and then they went back to Peter's apartment and built a new Lego set and Aunt May took them to their favorite restaurant. 

 

He should have walked into school and saw all the eyes staring back at him and hauled ass in the other direction. 

 

But he walked inside, stupidly feeling a little bit more like himself after spending the night with his best friend. 

 

Every time he walked past a small group of kids, their hushed whispers fell silent. He peeked around at everyone and their eyes fell to the ground when he looked their way. 

 

His hands tightened around his backpack straps as he swallowed thickly.  _ This couldn't be happening.  _ He couldn't move from his spot. His legs were too weak to hold him up he needed to fall down, curl into as ball and hide for the rest of his life. 

 

Then he heard the voice of his saving grace. “Peter!” Peter's head whipped up where he saw Ned running towards him with a panicked look on his face. 

 

But before Ned could reach him, Peter was put through more hell. “Penis Parker!” A hand grabbed his shoulder and shoved him back against a locker. 

 

Peter's wide eyes looked up to see Tyler grinning down at him. He was afraid if he spoke, his voice would break so he stayed quiet. The rest of the hallway went deathly silent and everyone's attention was on them. 

 

“What's a matter, Parker? I thought you liked it rough?” His voice was loud. He wanted everyone to hear. He wanted to humiliate Peter. “Hot video by the way.”

 

Peter was crying. Tears were pouring down his cheeks and there was no way he was going to stop them. 

 

“There's an empty janitor closet down the hall, if we hurry, we'll be done before the bell rings.” Tyler’s hand was squeezing his arm. 

 

Peter's stomach was churning violently. He wanted to scream. He wanted to punch Tyler in the face. But what if he couldn't control himself like last time and he just kept punching him until he was unconscious. He didn't want to look like a freak. So he kept his hands balled in fists at his side. 

 

Tyler turned around to face the crowd that had gathered. “Who wants first dibs? He's already crying for ya.” 

 

Nobody said a word. Some looked scared and others looked angry, a few were even laughing. But none stepped up to stop it. Except for Ned. 

 

“Let him go, Tyler. Nobody gets off on rape like you.” 

 

“Rape?” Tyler mocked innocence. “What? No, little Peter asked Dustin to go a little rougher. It's the small ones, you gotta look other for.”

 

Ned growled and moved to shove Tyler down but Tyler was too quick. He let go of Peter to grab Ned’s wrist and throw him to the ground. “I told you, you'd regret it, fatass.”

 

His hands were back on Peter before he could move. And he was back in Peter's face again, taunting him and smirking. Peter didn't know what he was saying. He could hear over the beat of his heart pounding in his ears. 

 

So everyone had seen the video. Everyone knew what happened. Everyone was watching this. Everyone was watching Peter freak out. 

 

Peter started to shake his head. “Please, go,” he mumbled when he felt last night's dinner start to come back up. 

 

“Aw, isn't that cute? He's begging--.” 

 

Peter cut him off by throwing up all over his shoes and pants. 

 

Tyler threw him down with a grunt of disgust. He would have fallen into his own puddle of vomit if Ned hadn't been there to catch him. 

 

Peter willed himself to stop and calm down. But he heaved again and more came up. The crowd was dispersing and Tyler was screaming down at Peter. 

 

Peter was surprised when a new voice joined the conversation. “You're the one we should be screaming at. You're a piece of shit. We know what you did.” 

 

Peter looked up at the source of that voice with wide eyes.  _ Flash?  _

 

Flash looked down at him and gave him a weak smile. Then he turned back to Tyler and his face was back to furious.

 

“W-What? I'm joking! You bust his balls all the time. It's just a joke.” Tyler sputtered. 

 

“This is not a joke.  _ Rape  _ is not a joke.” 

 

“Stop acting like you're so much better than me, Thompson. You're a fucking two faced hypocrite.” Tyler snarled before storming off in the opposite direction. 

 

Flash didn't move. He looked down at Peter and stuttered out a small apology, “I'm sorry, Peter. I, yeah, uh, I'm sorry.” And then he was hurrying off. 

 

Ned was still there, rubbing his back soothingly. “You're gonna be okay, Peter.”

 

Peter tried to ignore the fact he decorated the school floor with his throw up. Thinking about that embarrassment would only raise his panic. “The video?”

 

Ned said in a small voice, “He leaked it. Sent it to everyone.”

 

Peter shut his eyes. “Everyone saw?” Ned didn't answer so Peter opened his eyes and looked up at his friend. Ned nodded his head once. 

 

“I wanna leave,” Peter said immediately. “I wanna go.”

 

“We have to get out of here bef--.”

 

Ned was cut off by the principal's voice. “Mr. Parker!” He stayed clear from his side but showed some concern. “The nurse is right here, we're going to get you home.”

 

Peter just wanted to go home  _ now. _ But the nurse was there at his side and pulling up his arm up to get him off the floor. Peter followed her numbly and they walked down the hall. 

 

“Mr. Leeds, I'd like to speak with you in my office,” Mr. Requested. Now the principal was going to know ad they'd have to alert the authorities. 

 

Ned looked at Peter and asked, “You'll be okay?”

 

Peter nodded his head no matter how much of a lie it was. “Yeah. Thanks, Ned.” Ned hesitated before patting his arm and walking away with Principal.

 

“Are you still feeling sick?” The nurse asked as they walked down to the office. Peter shook his head, hoping she wouldn't bother him too much. “Okay, well, we're gonna call your parents and you'll rest up at home.”

 

Once they were inside, the nurse sat him down on a cot in the corner. She went back to her desk and asked, “What's your parents’ number?”

 

Peter swallowed. He couldn't give May's number. She was at work and she could find out what happened if she picked him up. So he gave her Tony's number. 

 

It didn't take long for him to pick up. “Hello, Mr. Parker?” She paused. “Oh, Peter is fine. Just got sick in the hall and is looking pale.” She nodded. “Yes, he's waiting here in the office, you can come and pick him up.” She hung up the phone and looked over at Peter with a smile. “He’ll be right here.”

 

Peter nodded his head and laid down on the bed. He closed his eyes and hoped it was all a dream. It had to be a dream.

* * *

Tony had never ran so fast as he rushed out of his apartment. He didn't even stop to get Happy before hurrying to his car. There was no time. 

 

He flew down the streets, heading towards Peter's school without a care for any speed limit. Peter needed him. 

 

Pulling up in front of the school, Tony threw on a pair of sunglasses and jumped out before the car was even parked. He ran inside the doors and looked around the hallway wildly. Where the hell was the nurse’s office?

 

He was saved when he saw a familiar teen stepping out of a room. “Ned!” He called. Ned looked his way and Tony hated the look in his eyes. Something was wrong. 

 

He hurried to the kid’s side and said, “What happened? Were you with Peter?”

 

Ned nodded his head once. The man next to him asked, “And you would be?”

 

“Tony Stark,” he replied quickly. He needed to get to Peter.

 

The man held out his hand. “Principal Morita.”

 

Tony shook his hand but said, “I really need to get to the nurse's office. My kid is there and he's sick.”

 

Principal Morita eyed him. “You're Peter Parker’s guardian?”

 

“His Aunt is at work, she asked me to come see how he was doing.” 

 

The principal stared at him, probably trying to figure out how a little family in Queens had Tony Stark on speed dial. “There was an incident this morning between him and another boy.”

 

Tony's eyes widened and he looked down at Ned. Ned looked to get even more upset. 

 

“Apparently, there is a video going around of Peter…” He trailed off, gauging Tony's reaction. “Did you know what happened?”

 

Fuck. That fucking video. “Of course, I know. Where is he?” 

 

“Before you leave, I suggest coming in to talk with our school physiologist to help deal with--.”

 

“With all due respect, Principal Morita, I need to see him now. We've got it handled at home. Right now, I  _ need to see him _ .”

 

Principal Morita sighed. “Very well, but we will be investigating this properly and if it comes up, him and his aunt will need to come in.”

 

Tony nodded. “I don't expect you to ignore this,” he said a bit harshly. “Can I please go see him now?”

 

“Down the hall, it's the last door on the right,” Ned said. 

 

Tony looked at him gratefully. “Thanks.” Then he hurried down the hallway, getting to the nurse's office. He shoved open the door and his eyes landed on the small bed in the corner where Peter was lying down. 

 

He started his way to him but was stopped by a hand on his arm. “You are?”

 

“Tony Stark,” he said pulling the sunglasses off his face. 

The woman holding his arm frowned. “What are you--?”

 

“You called me about Peter.” Why was everyone making it difficult to get to him?

 

“Oh, I'm sorry, I thought…” She trailed off and let go for his arm. Tony didn't waste a second before rushing to Peter's side. 

 

“Peter!” He panicked as he saw Peter curled up on his side. Peter heard his voice but only dug his head deeper into his pillow. “C’mon, kiddo, it's just me,” Tony eased in a softer voice. 

 

It took a few seconds but Peter finally rolled over to face him. His eyes were red and his cheeks were blotchy stained with fresh tear tracks. 

 

Tony smoothed some of his hair from his forehead. “We're gonna go. Come on.”

 

“Leave me alone,” Peter mumbled. “It doesn't matter.” 

 

Frowning, Tony kneeled down to be eye level with him. “Of course it matters. We're going to get you home and figure this all out.”

 

Peter avoided Tony's gaze but slowly pulled himself up. He refused to look either Tony or the nurse in the eyes as he was led out by Tony. 

 

“Can you just sign him out before you go,” the nurse requested as she held out a clipboard. Tony hastily scrawled his name and Peter's on the paper before they were allowed to leave. 

 

He saw Peter tense up him as soon as they were in the hallway. Tony wasn't sure what time the bell usually rang but he knew they had to be out of there before it did. 

 

Once they were in the car, Peter still was silent. Tony tried to get him to speak up, “Do you still feel sick?”

 

Peter just stared out the window.

 

Tony started the car and waited a few moments before talking again. “What happened?”

 

Peter sniffled with his head still leaning against the window. 

 

Tony sighed. This was going to be hard to get him to talk. “I saw Ned and your principal...the video was it…?” He trailed of, unable to speak the horrifying truth out loud. 

 

Peter hesitated but nodded his head. And he finally whispered, “He sent it to everyone. Everyone saw it. He was telling people I  _ wanted  _ it.”

 

Tony wished he wasn't driving so he could comfort the kid. “No one will believe it.”

 

“How do you know?” Peter grumbled. 

 

“Because he's going to jail for this. Now that the video is out, he can't hold it against you. I'm giving the police the tape that clearly shows Tyler helping Dustin.” 

 

Peter moaned miserably. “Exactly what I didn't want happening.” 

 

“Peter, if I could protect you from all of this I would,” Tony said forlornly.

 

Peter stayed silent as he continued to stare out the window. Tony wasn't sure how he was going to get Peter to recover from this one.  

 

The car remained silent until they pulled up in front of the tower. “You can stay here while May is at work. When she gets home...maybe you should think about telling her. The school knows now so they're going to call her about it.

 

“It's going to be a mess.”

 

Tony nodded; he wasn't going to lie. “Yeah, it's gonna be a mess. But after the mess is over, maybe you'll start getting some closure and the help you need.”

 

“Will you come with me...when I tell her?” Peter asked in a small voice, reminding Tony too much of a child. Peter was a child, sure, but no child deserved to be in this situation. “Because I'm afraid if you go...I'll do something stupid,” he ended in a whisper.

 

Tony nodded immediately, feeling his heart pang.  _ Something stupid.  _ Tony couldn't let Peter hurt himself.  “Of course, Peter. You're not in this alone. Never again.”

* * *

May was the one that called. An hour after her shift ended, she was ringing Peter's phone. Once he hung up, Peter told Tony, “She wants to talk to me.”

 

Tony had a feeling he knew what she wanted to talk about. The way that video was going around school, there was no way she didn't know about it.

 

So Tony had Happy drive them to Peter's apartment building. They were standing just in front of his door but Peter wasn't making a move to step inside. 

 

“What if she gets mad?” Peter asked. 

 

“She won't be mad at you,” Tony reassured him. “She's your Aunt. She's no one to be afraid of.”

 

Peter hesitated but finally opened the door slowly. He peeked his head in and said, “Aunt May, we’re home.” He stopped short when he saw her standing at the kitchen table waiting for him. 

 

“Peter…” Her eyes were red rimmed and that's when Tony knew. 

 

Peter didn't say a word. He had to know now; there was no other explanation for her crying. He looked up at Tony with with a desperate look in his eyes.  _ What do I do? _

 

May spoke again, “I was cleaning your room this afternoon because it's been getting messy and I know you haven't been feeling the best lately so I figured I'd help you out. And I cleaned up everything and under your bed…”

 

Tony wanted to step out to give the family some privacy but he promised not to leave Peter alone so he didn't move. 

 

May was staring down at the pile of clothes on the table. She lifted up a pair of boxers and squeezed them tightly in her hands. Tony felt his heart jump into his throat. He knew what was wrong before she said, “There is blood on your underwear and someone's…” 

 

Tony watched as she shuttered, too upset to even talk about the other stains on the shorts. 

 

“Aunt May, I--.” Peter cut in, tears streaming down his face. 

 

“And then I get a phone call from your principal about a video of you that I can't even see and then parents are calling me asking if I'm okay. And then I remember the kid from your school arrested for rape and I remember how you've been acting lately.” She stopped to take in a deep breath. 

 

“Aunt May…”

 

“Is it true?” Was all she asked. 

 

Tony could only imagine how hard it was for Peter to say this one word. “Yes.”

 

May covered her mouth as she sobbed, “Oh, my poor baby.” Then she was crossing the living room and pulling him close to her. One arm was holding him and the other was running a hand through his hair.

 

Tony felt like he was intruding on a private moment as he watched Peter cry openly into May's shoulder and as she whispered into his ear. But, Tony was proud of Peter for being able to have May hold him like this. He needed the comfort. Especially now. 

 

“I'm sorry, May, I didn't want you to worry and--.”

 

“You are my baby, I'm always going to worry. I'm sorry I didn't know. I'm sorry I let this happen to you.” She was steadily stroking his hair now. 

 

Peter shook his head. “This isn't your fault. Please don't blame yourself. I should have fought him off or stopped him.”

 

“No,” May said in a stern voice. “You stop that right now. If you could have stopped it, you would have. And don't let anyone try to tell you it was your fault. They can't even pretend to be in your shoes.” 

 

“I'm sorry, Aunt May.”

 

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”

 

“Everyone knows now. I'm sorry I embarrassed you.” Peter's voice cracked. 

 

It hurt even Tony to hear him say that.

 

“You did not embarrass me. You know who's embarrassed? The parents of the boy that did this to you. They're the ones ashamed of their child. Not me. Neither would your parents or Uncle Ben. They're all looking down and wondering how we raised such a strong boy.”

 

At the mention of his late family, Peter sobbed loudly and stuck his head back in May's shirt. Tony had never met any of them but he knew it was a sore subject for Peter. He never really asked about. Peter would talk to him about it when he was ready. 

 

“It's all going to be okay, honey. I promise.” She kissed the top of his head and continued to rub his back. Peter still hadn't flinched away. 

 

After a few more moments, May whispered something in Peter's ear and then he nodded. He pulled away from her but she kept an arm around him and they started walking towards Peter's bedroom. 

 

May looked over at Tony and Tony waved her on. He could wait for her to sit with Peter. She smiled gratefully at him before shutting the door behind them. 

 

Tony took a seat by the couch and sighed heavily. He couldn't believe this was happening. He wished he could rewind to the first time he sat on this couch when Peter's biggest problem was passing his Algebra exam. 

Tony stayed on the couch looking around the small apartment as he waited for May to return. This was nowhere near the size of his penthouse in the Tower but this wasn't bad. It had a cosy, homey feeling to it. 

 

Sometimes the huge apartments Tony lived in were to empty and silent and lonely. He wished he grew up like this. With a family that valued each other more than wealth. 

 

Tony leaned back against the couch, pretending like he was part of this family. Like if he looked back at the picture frames on the wall, he'd see himself in them.

 

Being so caught up his daydream, he didn't realize May was back until she was sitting next to him. Her eyes were still red and she was sniffling softly. 

 

Tony took one look at her before pulling her into a hug. She clung onto him desperately and sobbed in his ear. She was strong for Peter, now it was Tony's turn to be strong for her. No matter how much he wanted to cry too. 

 

“Please tell me this is a dream. Tell me it's a horrible dream,” she begged. 

 

“I wish I could,” he whispered, not trusting his voice to remain strong. 

 

“It's not fair. That poor boy has been through hell between his parents and Ben and now  _ this. _ ” She was holding him so tightly that Tony wouldn't be surprised if he never got the wrinkles out of his shirt. “I promised his parents I would take good care of him and I would never let anything bad happen to him.”

 

Tony took ahold of her hand. “That's a hard promise to keep. You can't blame yourself for this.”

 

“Yes, I can. He's my boy. I should have--.”

 

“There's nothing you could have done.”

 

May pulled away and straightened her glasses. “I should have known something was wrong. Why did it take me so long to even find out?”

 

“May, he didn't want you to know. I told him to tell you but it was hard for him to get the truth out,” Tony tried to ease her guilt but those had been the wrong words to say. 

 

She stilled in his arms and then asked in a low voice, “You knew?”

 

“Yeah, well, he told me about it a few days ago--.”

 

“You knew and didn't tell me?” She was definitely angry. 

Tony quickly tried to fix it. “May, he begged me not to tell anyone. We were working on it and he was actually coming to tell you today.”

 

May shot away from him onto her feet. “Oh, you were going to tell me  _ after  _ the entire school found out?” She ran a hand through her long hair. “I can't believe you knew Peter was raped and didn't say a word to  _ anyone.” _

 

Tony cringed. “May, I was lucky enough that he came to me in the first place. I didn't want to blow his trust and push him away. But Dustin is in jail, I got him to confess.” 

 

May was glaring down at him, yelling in a voice just low enough that it wouldn't wake Peter. “He's not your kid, Tony! You can't just walk into his life and take over. I'm his legal guardian and you had no right keeping this from me.”

 

“May, I know but you don't understand, if I told you then he would have pushed himself away and he wouldn't get any better.” Tony stayed on the couch as she towered over him.

 

“Oh, like  _ telling you _ saved him? He was in the hospital this week because he was letting himself waste away. You just let me wonder why my kid was depressed and possibly suicidal. I mean, did you even bother to think how I was feeling? How I was trying to figure out what was wrong and how to make it better?”

 

Tony didn't answer that because he honestly didn't. He had everything under control and didn't think upsetting May any more than she already was would be worth it. 

 

“And where were you?” 

 

Tony blinked. “I'm sorry, what?”

 

“When he was being raped. Aren't you  _ Iron Man _ ? You save people all the time.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “But when the one boy that looks up to you like you're the best thing in the world is in trouble, you're nowhere to be seen.”

 

Tony knew she was hurting and lashing out but those words still stung. “I didn't know Peter was in trouble. I would have saved him if I did. Believe me.”

 

May went silent and for a quick second, Tony thought he had helped her calm down. But when she opened her mouth, he realized the exact opposite. “You're not his father, Tony.” That hurt more than Tony would have liked to admit. “Stay away from him. I don't want to see you near my boy again. Do you understand?”

 

Tony couldn't lose Peter. “May, please, don't do this. The kid needs me--.” 

 

“No, Tony,  _ you need him _ . The internship is over and if I see you near him again, you'll be sorry.” She crossed her arms over her chest. 

 

Tony looked up at her and wanted to beg her to change her mind. This want right. They needed him. He needed them. He couldn't say goodbye--.

 

“Go!”

 

Tony knew he wasn't going to win this battle. At least not now. So he sighed and stood up. He walked past her and the the door. He opened it up and paused before walking out. Looking back at her he said, “I'm sorry. I wish I had told you. Tell Peter I said thanks for everything. I hope he feels better.”

 

And Tony walked out, not looking back once at all the picture frames he would never have a chance to be a part of.

  
  
  
  
  


**_fin_ **

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_ “And they'll never find us out here, right?” One of the men, named Garrett, said, looking out of the front window nervously.  _

 

_ Gargan rolled his eyes as he inspected another weapon that was in the living room. They had run all the way to upstate New York to a small cabin where there wasn't another house within miles. When they had arrived, there were boxes of weapons, all looking weird and definitely not made in America.  _

 

_ Dustin heard Toomes mention something about the weapons all being from salvaged alien technology, which made sense. Even though all of the weapons were from Toomes and his men, Gargan was taking over the operation.  _

 

_ “No one will find us. And if they do, they'll be sorry.” He lifted up a large gun and smirked.  _

 

_ Dustin lifted up another smaller gun off the table table and inspected it with his own grin. This stuff could do some serious damage.  _

 

_ “It doesn't matter,” he said, putting it back down. “No one is going to come looking for the kid anyway. He's parents are dead and all the family he has left is an aunt.” _

 

_ “But it he's really close with Spider-Man and Iron Man, like he claims, we better be careful,” Gargan advised wisely.  _

 

_ “Are we seriously going to pick a fight with  _ The Avengers? _ ” Toomes asked incredulously. “We're out and free. Why not just lay low until it's safe?”  _

 

_ “Because that Spider-Freak is still out there. He needs to pay.”  _

 

_ “How do we plan on getting him?” Another one of the inmates, that Dustin still hadn't learned the name to, asked.  _

 

_ “Easy. Dustin knows where the kid goes to school, where he lives. We watch him for a few days, find the right time to strike and then we grab him.” _

 

_ “Oh, and he's just gonna give us all his secrets?” Toomes asked.  _

 

_ Dustin eyed him quietly from the corner of his eyes. If Toomes wasn't so big and didn't have all the access to these weapons, Dustin didn't doubt that Gargan would have gotten rid of him already. He asked too many questions.  _

 

_ “We're gonna make him sweat,” Gargan replied. “I've got enough toys to make him squirm and cry before we bring him to Carter.”  _

 

_ “Wait, you're actually pulling that shit again?” Toomes huffed.  _

 

_ “Yeah, and if you're too squeamish, step outside,” Dustin sneered. “I'm not letting you ruin my fun.” _

 

_ “Raping people is fun? Oh, that's nice.”  _

 

_ Dustin rolled his eyes. “Like you're any better.” Toomes went silent and Dustin smiled. “That's what I thought.” _

  
_ “Hey, you two,” Gargan called, “Either whip them out and measure it or cut it out. We have work to do. I want this place to look nice for our guest.”  _

**Author's Note:**

> So, yeah, I couldn't leave Ned in the dark. I think he would have figured it out because he's Peter's best friend and I gave him some backstory just because.
> 
> And yeah, the whole school knows. I wasn't going to do that but then the story was dry and I couldn't make anything fit together so yeah sorry, Peter. 
> 
> And now Tony has to stay away from Peter. *sigh* that's not good.
> 
> Anyway, the next installment is the last one in this series...but it will not be a one-shot like the rest of these. It is a multi-chapter fic because there's still so much to do...Dustin has just escaped. Now he needs to actually start his plan of revenge. 
> 
> I'm really excited to start writing it. I'm not sure how often I'll be updating or when I'll get it done. I'm starting to write my Big Bang for the Peter&Tony Big Bang.
> 
> Please let me know what you think below:)


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